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Halloween Costumes
Halloween costumes are costumes worn on Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. There are many references to the custom during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Celtic countries of Scotland, Ireland, Mann and Wales. It has been suggested that the custom comes from the Celtic festivals of Samhain and Calan Gaeaf, or from the practise of "souling" during the Christian observance of Allhallowtide. The Christian tradition of acknowledging the ''danse macabre'' is also suggested as the origin of dressing up on Halloween Dressing up is not strictly restricted to Halloween among Christians, with similar practices being observed on holidays like Christmas. Halloween costumes are traditionally based on frightening supernatural or folkloric beings. However, by the 1930s costumes based on characters in mass media such as film, literature, and radio were popular. Halloween ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁיחַ) (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related or pertaining to Christ'. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul Cake
A soul cake, also known as a soulmass-cake, is a small round cake (though they more resemble in appearance and texture a shortbread biscuit, with sweet spices) which is traditionally made for Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day to commemorate the dead in many Christian traditions. The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, are given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who go from door to door during the days of Allhallowtide singing and saying prayers "for the souls of the givers and their friends", especially the souls of deceased relatives, thought to be in Purgatory. The practice in England dates to the medieval period, and was continued there until the 1930s. In Sheffield and Cheshire, the custom has continued into modern times. In Lancashire and in the North-east of England soul cakes were known as Harcakes, a kind of thin parkin. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes continues in some countries today, such as Portugal (where it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has played an important part in society due to the nature of sociology. Sociology dictates that social norms are an inherent part of society and, thus, there are expected norms for each gender relating to style, color, type of clothing and more. Thus, cross-dressing allows individuals to express themselves by acting beyond guidelines, views, or even laws defining what type of clothing is expected and appropriate for each gender. The term "cross-dressing" refers to an action or a behavior, without attributing or implying any specific causes or motives for that behavior. Cross-dressing is not synonymous with being transgender. Terminology The phenomenon of cross-dressing is seen throughout recorded history, being referred to as far back as the Hebr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Horse (mythology)
White horses have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot,''The Complete Dictionary of Symbols'' by Jack Tresidder, Chronicle Books, 2005, , page 241Google books copy/ref> with warrior-heroes, with fertility (in both mare and stallion manifestations), or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well. Both truly white horses and the more common grey horses, with completely white hair coats, were identified as "white" by various religious and cultural traditions. Portrayal in myth From earliest times, white horses have been mythologised as possessing exceptional properties, transcending the normal world by having wings (e.g. Pegasus from Greek mythology), or having horns (the unicorn). As part of its legendary dimension, the white horse in myth may be depicted with seven heads ( Uchaishravas) or eight feet (Sleipnir), sometimes in groups or singly. There are also white horse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guising
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system. The history of trick-or-treating traces back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mummers Play
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). Historically, mummers' plays consisted of informal groups of costumed community members that visited from house to house on various holidays. Today the term refers especially to a play in which a number of characters are called on stage, two of whom engage in a combat, the loser being revived by a doctor character. This play is sometimes found associated with a sword dance though both also exist in Britain independently. Mumming spread from the British Isles to a number of former British colonies. It is sometimes performed in the street but more usually during visits to houses and pubs. It is generally performed seasonally or annually, often at Christmas, Easter or on Plough Monday, more rarely on Halloween or All Souls' Day, and often wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Propitiation
Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. While some use the term interchangeably with expiation, others draw a sharp distinction between the two. The discussion here encompasses usage only in Judaism and in the Christian tradition. Christian theology In Romans 3:25 the King James Version, New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, and the English Standard Version translates "propitiation" from the Greek word ''hilasterion''. Concretely it specifically means the lid of The Ark of The Covenant. The only other occurrence of ''hilasterion'' in the NT is in Hebrews 9:5, where it is translated as "mercy seat" in all of the Bible translations named above as well as the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version. For many Christians it has the meaning of "that which expiates or propitiates" or "the gift which procures propitiation". (KJV) reads: "And he is the propi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aos Sí
' (; older form: ) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Celtic mythology – spelled ''sìth'' by the Scots, but pronounced the same – comparable to fairies or elves. They are said to descend from either fallen angels or the Tuatha Dé Danann, meaning the "People of Danu", depending on the Abrahamic or pagan tradition. The ''aos sí'' are said to live underground in fairy forts, across the Western sea, or in an invisible world that co-exists with the world of humans. This world is described in the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' as a parallel universe in which the ''aos sí'' walk among the living. In modern Irish the people of the mounds are also called ''daoine sí''; in Scottish Gaelic they are called ''daoine sìth'' (in both cases, it means "people of the fairy mound"). They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods. Evans Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe Humanitie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about the origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as deities in Pagan belief systems, as spirits of the dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans, or as spirits of nature. The label of ''fairy'' has at times applied only to specific magical creatures with human appearance, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. At other times it has been used to describe any magical creature, such as goblins and gnomes. ''Fairy'' has at times been used as an adjective, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christianization Of Ireland
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, continued through the Middle Ages in Europe, and in the twenty-first century has spread around the globe. Historically, there are four stages of Christianization beginning with individual conversion, followed by the translation of Christian texts into local vernacular language, establishing education and building schools, and finally, social reform that sometimes emerged naturally and sometimes included politics, government, coercion and even force through colonialism. The first countries to make Christianity their state religion were Armenia, Georgia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. In the fourth to fifth centuries, multiple tribes of Germanic barbarians converted to either Arian or orthodox Christianity. The Frankish empire begins during this same per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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